Nokia expands N-series with new phones, features and services

Nokia’s N-series is known for its capabilities with multimedia and army-knife approach to features. The N95 has been the flagship of the range as the most feature-packed mobile in the market with its five megapixel camera, flash, WiFi, GPS et al, and an example of what the N-series stands for. Nokia has now refreshed the range with three new phones; the N78, N82 and N96.

The Finnish phone maker has also announced that from now on all of its smart phones will include wireless networking and HSDPA connectivity.

“These multimedia computers are made for storytelling,” says Henri Mattila, Nokia’s head of go to market for N-series sales, Middle East and Africa. “The devices capture people’s journeys and discoveries. With the built-in A-GPS, users can find new places by pairing ‘contextual’ information with a wide array of connectivity features such as Wi-Fi and HSDPA. We make it easy for consumers to quickly share those moments as they happen.”

A-GPS stands for assisted GPS. This is misleading however; the N-series phones have fully-capable GPS chips, but also use the phone’s Internet connection to speed up the rate of location and enhance search in the devices. A-GPS mode can be disabled, in which case the device will rely exclusively on the built-in GPS.

The value phone
The new Nokia N78 is an entry level N-series device, but offers good value and a wide range of features. These include HSDPA data connectivity, assisted GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera and FM transmitter.

The latter is a welcome addition for music and podcast enthusiasts who can now transmit audio from the device to any FM radio without any additional accessories.

The combination of GPS and camera also allows users to geotag their photographs and upload media to popular file sharing communities straight from the phone. Supported services at launch include Youtube and Zoopy.

In terms of storage the N78 ships with an included two gigabyte micro-SD card. It should be free on most Vodacom and MTN contracts in South Africa.

All in one
The N96 is Nokia’s successor to the N95 and the new flagship of the N-series. It has a five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSDPA, wireless networking, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, a micro SD card slot, A-GPS, Bluetooth, FM transitter and virtually every other feature available to mobile platforms today.

Unfortunately the N96’s camera uses an LED flash that also serves as a video light – it would have been nice to see a real flash included, as is the case with the N82.

The N96 also includes DVB-H; the terrestrial broadcasting standard that DSTV has been promising for some time, allowing the device to receive live television. It also supports a wide range of video formats for playback and online streaming, and includes a nifty kickstand that allows you to prop the N96 up on a flat surface for hands-free viewing. Nokia is also bundling a copy of the movie Transformers with the phone to show off its video capabilities.

Having 16 gigabytes of internal memory and the ability to expand this with the card slot means that the N96 can carry around a massive total memory of 32 gigabytes making it the perfect travel companion, not only for communication, but for media too.

The trademark dual-slide that was introduced in the N95 has been carried over into the N96 too; slide the screen one way to reveal the keypad and the other for multimedia controls. The multimedia controls have also been designed with gaming in mind for Nokia’s N-Gage experience.

On the battery front Nokia claims that the N96 will provide five hours of video playback, 14 hours of music, 200 hours of standby or almost two and a half hours of talk on GSM. We’ll confirm these numbers once we actually have one to play with. All Nokia could show us at time of writing was an early prototype of the device.

The N96 is set to retail for around 700 Euros in Europe, which would suggest that it will carry a similar price in South Africa to that of the N95 at launch – expect to pay around R2000 for the phone, on contract and around R7500 retail.

The camera phone
The N82 is Nokia’s new photography-focused device. It has a five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a real Xenon flash, unlike the N96. The device also has other features usually reserved for dedicated cameras, such as autofocus with a dedicated assist-lamp and fast reloading between shots.

Besides for the promise of a full-function digital camera, the N82 is also a feature-packed phone with wireless networking, HSDPA, GPS, Bluetooth and more.

Free World Maps
Nokia’s Maps service is also being refreshed with the coming release of Maps 2.0, which is currently in beta. The new software will be available on all N-series devices, using the built in A-GPS feature in the phones. The service allows for drive and walk navigation with 3D mapping and satellite overlays. Best of all, Nokia are providing the entire world’s maps for free.

Voice navigation, however, is not free and must be subscribed too, but Nokia will include a free one-year subscription of the service with purchases of the N96 and demo periods with other phones. Nokia will also move to the Nokia Maps software in its other ranges, replacing third-party software currently in use.

The new N-series phones are slated for a third-quarter 2008 release and as soon as we have received units for review we will bring you the full lowdown.

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